Whether your passion is The Ancient Greeks, The Wars of The Roses or The Russian Revolution, you'll find stories of life during these eras and every other, often using factual accounts to build a fictional narrative.
Historical Fiction Books
Cornerstone The Lady Elizabeth
Book SynopsisEngland, 1536. Home to the greatest, most glittering court in English history. But beneath the dazzling façade lies treachery . . . Elizabeth Tudor is daughter to Henry VIII, the most powerful king England has ever known. She is destined to ascend the throne, and deferred to as the King''s heiress, but that all changes when her mother Anne Boleyn - Henry`s great passion and folly - is executed for treason. Elizabeth ''s life alters in a heartbeat. A pawn in the savage game of Tudor power politics, she is disinherited, declared a bastard, and left with only her quick wits to rely on for her very existence. But Elizabeth is determined to survive, to foil those who want to destroy her, or who are determined to use her as a puppet for their own lethal ambition, and to reclaim her birthright . . .Trade ReviewThis novel takes us into a very plausible and frightening 16th-century world... Can Elizabeth survive? Well, you know the answer but this Tudor thriller is so exciting that you find yourself amazed that she did. * Daily Express *This enjoyable novel by a popular historian tells the story of Elizabeth I before she became Queen... She emerges as a thoughtful, wise, precocious and likeable survivor. The novel is meticulously researched and convincingly captures the intimate details of the future Monarch's daily life. * Mail on Sunday *Weir employs contemporary gossip to intriguing effect. With a style that casts even Philippa Gregory's stately gavottes in a dashing new light, Weir convinces with her scholarly grasp * Independent *Weir's Elizabeth is nuanced and enchanting, and the author lends a refreshing perspective to well-known characters and events... [An] entertaining look into the rarely explored life of one of England's most fascinating characters * Publishers Weekly *[A] compelling, even irresistible read... Weir offers an exceptionally perceptive as well as imaginative interpretation of the most significant monarch in English history * Booklist (starred review) *
£9.49
Cornerstone Saturnalia
Book SynopsisWe should have time to manage it and still get back to the party before the wine runs out.'It is the Roman holiday of Saturnalia. The days are short; the nights are for wild parties. A general has captured a famous enemy of Rome, and brings her home to adorn his Triumph as a ritual sacrifice. The logistics go wrong; she acquires a mystery illness then a young man is horrendously murdered and she escapes from house arrest.Falco is pitted against his old rival, the Chief Spy Anacrites, in a race to find the fugitive before her presence angers the public and makes the government look stupid. Falco has other priorities, for Helena's brother Justinus has also vanished. Against the riotous backdrop of the season of misrule, the search seems impossible and only Falco seems to notice that some dark agency is bringing death to the city streetsTrade ReviewLike visiting old friends in a familiar and endearing, if sometimes bizarre, environment. Jokes and skulduggery crowd the pages * Guardian *Every book in this series is a delight... fans will snap it up. Highly recommended * Library Journal *Falco wisecracks his way through the empire's sleazy underside...Davis' crimes are wickedly convoluted - real fun * Time Magazine *One of the best in this series, a nice mix of wit and wisecracks * Literary Review *Rome is vividly brought to life - alien yet curiously familiar. And the story gallops along at a tremendous pace with humour and suspense dispensed in equal measure. Saturnalia is another rollicking good yarn * Daily Express *
£9.49
Vintage Publishing Keeping the World Away
Book SynopsisLost, found, stolen, strayed, sold, fought over... This engrossing, beautifully crafted novel follows the fictional adventures, over a hundred years, of an early 20th-century painting and the women whose lives it touches. It opens with bold, passionate Gwen, struggling to be an artist, leaving for Paris where she becomes Rodin''s lover and paints a small, intimate picture of a quiet corner of her attic room.Then there''s Charlotte, a dreamy intellectual Edwardian girl, and Stella, Lucasta, Ailsa and finally young Gillian, who share an unspoken desire to have for themselves a tranquil golden place like that in the painting.Quintessential Forster, this is a novel about women''s lives, about what it means and what it costs to be both a woman and an artist, and an unusual, compelling look at a beautiful painting and its imagined afterlife.Trade ReviewForster's style is easy and unpretentious. In a brief paragraph she can create a character we care about, a story we long to see resolved -- Sue Gaisford * Independent on Sunday *Few authors share Margaret Forster's extraordinary ability to transform the ordinary day-to-day activities of unremarkable people into compelling fiction * Daily Mail *A fine novel... an inspired reflection on the redemptive potential of art * Mail on Sunday *The characters are fully developed and differentiated...there is harrowing emotional insight; it also contains elements of real comedy -- Matthew Dennison * The Times *Her historical skills are, as always, matched by her marvellous empathy... A finely crafted novel * Sunday Times *
£9.49
Cornerstone The Flag Captain
Book SynopsisIf you love adventure, tight plotting, excellent characterization and vivid writing, set your course for this compelling and captivating naval adventure from multi-million copy seller Alexander Kent. Fans of Patrick O''Brian and C. S. Forester will not be disappointed. Do not miss out!''One of our foremost writers of naval fiction'' -- Sunday Times''Fans of the Hornblower stories have a treat in THE FLAG CAPTAIN...The book is full of action - and character.'' -- Sunday Mirror''Engrossing'' -- ***** Reader review''An emotional tour de force'' -- ***** Reader review''Typical Alexander Kent Bolitho novel - every book in the series has kept me enthralled. I struggle to put them down until the end'' -- ***** Reader review''Superb with unexpected twists and turns, fascinating plot lines and gripping descriptions of naval battles'' -- ***** Reader review************************Trade ReviewOne of our foremost writers of naval fiction. * Sunday Times *
£9.49
Cornerstone Honour This Day
Book SynopsisIf you like Patrick O''Brian and C. S. Forester, you will love this all-guns-blazing naval page-turner from multi-million copy seller Alexander Kent - guaranteed to have you hooked from page one!''One of our foremost writers of naval fiction'' -- Sunday Times''Shipwreck, survival ... a spirited battle ... a splendid yarn'' -- The Times''Gripping to the end'' -- ***** Reader review''Difficult to put down'' -- ***** Reader review''Superb'' -- ***** Reader review''Riveting'' -- ***** Reader review''Exceptionally well written'' -- ***** Reader review''What a story!'' -- ***** Reader review***********************************************************************************************1804: England stands alone against France and the fleets of Spain, expecting an invasion any day. Entrusted with an urTrade ReviewShipwreck, survival ... a spirited battle ... a splendid yarn * The Times *One of our foremost writers of naval fiction * Sunday Times *
£9.49
Cornerstone Man Of War
Book SynopsisAntigua 1817Every harbour and estuary is filled with ghostly ships, the famous and the legendary now redundant in the aftermath of the war. In this uneasy peace, Adam Bolitho is fortunate to be offered the seventy-four gun Athena, and as flag captain to Vice-Admiral Sir Graham Bethune once more follows his destiny to the Caribbean.But in these haunted waters where Richard Bolitho and his ''band of brothers'' once fought a familiar enemy, the quarry is now a renegade foe who flies no colours and offers no quarter, and whose traffic in human life is sanctioned by flawed treaties and men of influence. And here, and when Athena''s guns speak, a day of terrible retribution will dawn for the innocent and the damned.Trade ReviewShipwreck, survival... a spirited battle... a splendid yarn * Times *One of our foremost writers of naval fiction * Sunday Times *
£9.49
Vintage Publishing Crossing the River
Book SynopsisShortlisted for the Booker Prize Winner of the James Tait Black Memorial Prize for FictionCaryl Phillips' ambitious and powerful novel spans two hundred and fifty years of the African diaspora. It tracks two brothers and a sister on their separate journeys through different epochs and continents: one as a missionary to Liberia in the 1830s, one a pioneer on a wagon trail to the American West later that century, and one a GI posted to a Yorkshire village in the Second World War.Epic and frequently astonishing' The TimesIts resonance continues to deepen' New York TimesTrade ReviewA compassionate, forceful and profoundly moving revelation * Scotland on Sunday *[T]here are gems of impassioned writing quilted within this ambitious cross-cultural novel of loss and reconciliation * Sunday Times *Epic and frequently astonishing * The Times *Crossing the River is dense with event and ingeniously structured. It requires concentration and is worth it * Independent *An ambitious exploration of oppression, loss and reconciliation that employs a collage of styles and ranges across continents and centuries -- Nicci Gerrard * Observer *
£9.49
Cornerstone Killing Ground
Book SynopsisDouglas Reeman did convoy duty in the navy in the Atlantic, the Arctic, and the North Sea. He has written over thirty novels under his own name and more than twenty bestselling historical novels featuring Richard Bolitho under the pseudonym Alexander Kent.Trade ReviewA stirring tale of the Atlantic war ... one can almost smell the sea and the burning oil as Jitler's U-boats wreak havoc * Sunday Express *Vivid naval action at its most authentic * Sunday Times *Mr Reeman writes with great knowledge about the sea and those who sail on it * The Times *
£9.49
Random House The Hammer of the Scots
Book SynopsisReaders of Philippa Gregory will love this gripping account of Edward I and his private and political battles by multi-million copy and international bestselling author Jean Plaidy. ''Outstanding'' -- Vanity Fair''Full-blooded, dramatic, exciting'' -- Observer''Jean Plaidy conveys the texture of various patches of the past with such rich complexity'' - Guardian''An inspired blending of history and imagination'' -- **** Reader review''A must read'' -- **** Reader review''History at its best'' -- **** Reader review''A pleasure to read'' -- **** Reader review''Powerful stuff'' -- **** Reader review*******************************************************************************The news of Henry III''s death reached his son Edward on the long road home from the Holy Land. Now he was EngTrade ReviewJean Plaidy doesn't just write the history, she makes it come alive -- Julia Moffat, RNAOutstanding * Vanity Fair *Full-blooded, dramatic, exciting * Observer *Jean Plaidy conveys the texture of various patches of the past with such rich complexity * Guardian *Jean Plaidy's books are a celebration of women's spirit throughout history * Daily Express *
£15.29
Vintage Publishing Beloved
Book SynopsisToni Morrison was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1993. She was the author of many novels, including The Bluest Eye, Sula, Beloved, Paradise and Love. She received the National Book Critics Circle Award and a Pulitzer Prize for her fiction and was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, America's highest civilian honour, in 2012 by Barack Obama. Toni Morrison died on 5 August 2019 at the age of eighty-eight.Trade Review'Toni Morrison was a giant of her times and ours... Beloved is a heartbreaking testimony to the ongoing ravages of slavery, and should be read by all'‘I adored her honesty. I admired the way she occupied her space in the world. I believed her’‘[Toni Morrison] led and we followed, and she showed us the beauty of the language, and the power that was unleashed when that beauty was allied to a great heart and a ferocious mind’‘No other writer in my lifetime, or perhaps ever, has married so completely an understanding of the structures of power with knowledge of the human heart’‘Toni Morrison is the greatest chronicler of the American experience that we have ever known’‘Morrison is, to me, the best writer the English-speaking world has ever seen’‘Morrison’s legacy in commemorating slavery’s survivors will endure and uplift for centuries to come'‘Her every word a caress, her every sentence an embrace, her every paragraph, a cupping of her hands around our faces that said: I know you, I see you, we are together’‘I have never read anyone else like her . . . She was an opener of doors, doors that seemed they might always be shut, doors shut so tight they seemed not to be doors at all’‘Her legacy is total excellence . . . she is magnificent, her emotional intelligence is second to none and her bravery was equal to her artistry’‘Morrison almost single-handedly took American fiction forward in the second half of the twentieth century’‘[Toni Morrison’s] irreverence was godly’ * Guardian *A beautiful book and it's beautifully written -- Kit de Waal * Good Housekeeping UK *My favourite book of all time -- Sareeta Domingo * Good Housekeeping *Morrison's stunning trilogy is an evocation of black life over the past four centuries. It defies summary. Completed almost 25 years ago, these novels top anything produced by any American writer including Hemingway, Updike and DeLillo -- Trevor Phillips * Sunday Times *[A] beautiful, haunting novel -- Stig Abell * Sunday Times *More than one of Morrison's books could be classed as masterpieces, but this one is famous for a reason: everyone should read it -- Bernice McFadden, author of SUGAR * Guardian *A magnificent achievement...an American masterpiece -- A.S. Byatt * Guardian *A triumph -- Margaret Atwood * New York Times Book Review *She melds horror and beauty in a story that will disturb the mind forever * Sunday Times *
£9.49
Vintage Publishing The Leopard
Book SynopsisAs the head of the aristocratic family, Don Fabrizio is accustomed to knowing his own place in the world and expects his household to run accordingly. He is aware of the changes which are rapidly making men obsolete but he remains attached to the old ways. But Don Fabrizio will make few accommodations for the modern world.Trade ReviewThere is a great feeling of opulence, decay, love and death about itEvery once in a while, like certain golden moments of happiness, infinitely memorable, one stumbles on a book or a writer, and the impact is like an indelible mark. Lampedusa's The Leopard, his only novel, and a masterpiece, is such a work * Independent *Perhaps the greatest novel of the centuryOne of the great lonely books...not a historical novel, but a novel which happens to take place in historyThe poetry of Lampedusa's novel flows into the Sicilian countryside...a work of great artistry
£9.49
Vintage Publishing On Chesil Beach
Book SynopsisIan McEwan is the critically acclaimed author of seventeen books. His first published work, a collection of short stories, First Love, Last Rites, won the Somerset Maugham Award. His novels include The Child in Time, which won the 1987 Whitbread Novel of the Year Award; The Cement Garden; Enduring Love; Amsterdam, which won the 1998 Booker Prize; Atonement; Saturday; On Chesil Beach; Solar; Sweet Tooth; The Children Act; and Nutshell, which was a Number One bestseller. Atonement and Enduring Love have both been turned into award-winning films, The Children Act and On Chesil Beach are in production and set for release this year, and filming is currently underway for a BBC TV adaptation of The Child in Time.Trade ReviewWonderful...exquisite...devastating * Independent on Sunday *Exquisitely crafted * Evening Standard *Superb... The protagonists have everything to lose, and their faltering journey towards a point of no return is conjured into life my McEwan with irresistible subtlety, tact and force * Financial Times *On Chesil Beach is more than an event. It is a masterpiece * Times Literary Supplement *This is McEwan's mature style, one we have come to recognise from Atonement and Saturday. It is a polished, civilised style, and very distant from the shock tactics of his early work... McEwan brings Florence and Edward touchingly alive for us; and their seriousness, their idealism, and their desire for love draw us towards them * Guardian *To commend an author for being reminiscent of Edith Wharton is a compliment that this reviewer reserves for a select few. Yet with On Chesil Beach, Ian McEwan has earnt it * Telegraph *A master feat of concentration in both senses of the word * Sunday Times *Written with a fierce pursuit of the truth and an utterly modern self-awareness, what a confidant tour de force this turns out to be * Sunday Express *One of our greatest living writers. Many Easter weekends and train journeys will be enlivened by a compelling novella * Herald *It is a masterpiece. The very idea that informs it, fascinating and unfamiliar, is masterly * TLS *A didactic, ironic novella of great accomplishment and calculated ambition. Structurally and linguistically, it is a triumph...intriguingly compassionate * Prospect *It is a measure of McEwan's artistry that he is able here both to linger in the recording of sensuous particularities and at the same time to deliver the satisfactions of plot we are accustomed to deriving from his fiction * Time Out, Book of the Week *McEwan shares with his fellow English novelist Jim Crace not only an interest in history but in finding a style in prose that is slow-moving, yet compelling, at times stilted and dry, and then suddenly sharp and precise * London Review of Books *The protagonists of On Chesil Beach have everything to lose, and their faltering journey towards a point of no return is conjured into life by McEwan with irresistible subtlety, tact and force * Scotsman *The book is steeped in lost hopes and disappointments, with each sentence as powerful as a Larkin poem. I didn't know a British novelist could still be this good * Express *McEwan is word-perfect at handling the awkward comedy of this relationship and, as ever, turning it into something far more disturbing * Observer *Two characters so vibrant they step straight off the page * The Tablet *McEwan's brilliance as a novelist lies in his ability to isolate discrete moments in life and invest them with incredible significance * Observer *McEwan's style is lean and clear...every sentence feels carefully crafted, the words all perfectly in place * Daily Mail *A tightly focused human drama... McEwan gives the reader access to both characters' thoughts with his usual skill, and the comedy of embarrassment, or of the kind of erotic misunderstanding that Milan Kundera used to specialise in, quickly disappears as the marital bed begins to seem more and more ominous... The bedroom scene itself is carried off brilliantly * Sunday Telegraph *
£9.49
Vintage Publishing The Outcast
Book Synopsis ‘If you liked Atonement by Ian McEwan, you'll love this’ Harper's BazaarThe bestselling novel from the author of The Snakes, The Outcast is a powerful portrait of unexpected love and treacherous charades against the backdrop of a sleepy post-war English village August 1957.Trade ReviewAn elegant, subtle, haunting novel that stayed with me long after I finished it. Sadie Jones has a long literary future ahead of her -- Tracy ChevalierThe prose is elegant and spare, but the story it reveals is raw and explosive... Devastatingly good' -- Eithne Farry * Daily Mail *Jones's story is imbued with brooding atmosphere and drama. Understated and elegantly narrated with attention to period detail, this is a gripping love story with a twist. If you liked Atonement by Ian McEwan, you'll love this * Harper's Bazaar *Eminently readable first novel....reads like a thriller, the tension and menace build expertly...a powerful, promising first novel * Financial Times *She writes with simmering intensity... particularly strong on atmosphere... Jones uses small, startling phrases to convey depths of passion and information and she can make seemingly innocuous passages radiate beauty * Sunday Telegraph *
£9.49
Cornerstone The Silver Pigs
Book SynopsisFans of S. J. Parris, Donna Leon, Steven Saylor and C. J. Sansom will absolutely love this gripping page-turner of a historical mystery from multi-million copy bestselling author Lindsey Davis. Full of twists, turns and tension - you''ll be hooked from page one...''Her research has been assiduous and detailed, her commitment to the subject is impressive, and the background detail is often eye-opening'' -- Hilary Mantel, Observer''One of the best writers in this field'' -- Donna Leon, The Times''Surely the best historical detective in the business'' -- Daily Telegraph''Every book in this series is a delight ... highly recommended'' -- Library Journal''Be careful, if you get the taste for this you''ll end up reading them all... I can think of worse ways to pass the time'' -- ***** Reader review''This series is just SO addictive!'Trade ReviewEvery book in this series is a delight … fans will snap it up, highly recommendedLibrary Journal * Library Journal *Davis is a prolific and popular writer … Her research has been assiduous and detailed, her commitment to the subject is impressive, and the background detail is often eye-opening -- Hilary Mantel * Observer *One of the best of the current writers in this field -- Donna Leon * The Times *Surely the best historical detective in the business -- Mike Ripley * Daily Telegraph *The whole thing is splendid. It has everything: mystery, pace wit, fascinating scholarship … she brings imperial Rome to life -- Ellis Peters
£9.49
Cornerstone Shadows In Bronze
Book SynopsisLet multi-million copy bestselling author Lindsey Davis transport you back to 71 A.D. in this captivating mystery, full of political intrigue, twists, turns and romantic tension. Fans of S. J. Parris, Donna Leon, Steven Saylor, C. J. Sansom will not be disappointed...''A tumultuous Ancient Rome with a delightful modern eye'' -- Sunday Times''Fast-moving, funny and full of atmosphere'' -- Mail on Sunday''An exciting and gripping mystery'' -- ***** Reader review''Couldn''t put the book down'' -- ***** Reader review''Gripping right from the beginning'' -- ***** Reader review''Very addictive'' -- ***** Reader review''My advice is BUY IT and READ IT as you will not regret it'' -- ***** Reader review*************************************************************************************LOVE, DEATH AND POLITICS UNDER VESUVIUSTrade ReviewOne of the best of the current writers in this field * Donna Leon, The Times *Surely the best historical detective in the business * Mike Ripley, Daily Telegraph *A tumultuous Ancient Rome with a delightful modern eye * Sunday Times *
£9.49
Cornerstone Venus In Copper
Book SynopsisFans of S. J. Parris, Donna Leon, Steven Saylor, C. J. Sansom will love this exciting and enthralling historical mystery from multi-million copy bestselling author Lindsey Davis. Expertly weaving an authentic depiction of Ancient Rome with exceptional characterisation and a tightly woven plot, this will have you hooked. ''Another redolent dip into corruption in Vespasian''s Rome ... original and delightful'' -- Sunday Times''A tumultuous Ancient Rome with a delightful modern eye'' -- Sunday Times''Fast-moving, funny and full of atmosphere'' -- Mail on Sunday''A thrilling murder mystery'' -- ***** Reader review''Such fun!'' -- ***** Reader review''Another corking Falco'' -- ***** Reader review''My advice is BUY IT and READ IT as you will not regret it'' -- ***** Reader review**************************************Trade Review • "As always, Davis wears her research lightly, bringing Ancient Rome to vivid life in a series of delicious vignettes." --Manchester Evening News
£9.49
Cornerstone The Iron Hand Of Mars
Book SynopsisEasier said than done, thinks Falco, as he makes his uneasy way down the Rhenus, trying to forget that back in sunny Rome his girlfriend Helena Justina is being hotly pursued by Titus Caesar.Trade ReviewHer most ambitious to date... Davis has found a winning formula. The tempo is presto, the language pert * Daily Telegraph *Lindsey Davis doesn't merely make history come alive - she turns it into spanking entertainment, and wraps it around an intriguing mystery. She is incapable of writing a dull sentence * Peter Lovesey *Surely the best historical detective in the business * Daily Telegraph *
£9.49
Cornerstone Poseidons Gold
Book SynopsisWorse still, the only client Falco can get is his mother – who wants him to clear the family name.Then just as Falco thinks things can only get better, fate takes a turn for the worse.Trade ReviewSeveral cheers for Lindsey Davis... Great fun * The Times *Fast-moving, funny and full of atmosphere; if you haven't met Marcus Didius Falco before, start here * Mail on Sunday *The setting enchants. Prescribed reading for any student bored by Latin * Mail on Sunday *
£9.49
Cornerstone Last Act In Palmyra
Book SynopsisThis gripping and pacy historical mystery is perfect for fans of S. J. Parris, Donna Leon, Steven Saylor and C. J. Sansom. With its wry humour, expert characterisation, vivid descriptions and incredible sense of adventure, you''ll be hooked from page one...''Several cheers for Lindsey Davis... Great fun'' - The Times''The whole thing is splendid. It has everything: mystery, pace, wit, fascinating scholarship ... she brings Imperial Rome to life'' - Ellis Peters''Another excellent Falco book that is difficult to put down'' - ***** Reader review''Astounding'' - ***** Reader review''A fabulous read'' - ***** Reader review''Full marks and happily recommended'' - ***** Reader review******************************************************************DROWNING IN MYSTERY, DYING ON STAGEThe spirit of adventure calls Marcus Didius Falco on a neTrade ReviewA wonderful series of detective novels * The Good Book Guide *Several cheers for Lindsey Davis... Great fun * The Times *Splendid . . . mystery, pace and wit
£9.49
Cornerstone Time To Depart
Book Synopsis‘“I still can’t believe I’ve put the bastard away for good!” Petro muttered.’Petronius Longus, captain of the Aventine watch and Falco’s oldest friend, has finally nailed one of Rome’s top criminals. One dark and gloomy dawn, Petro and Falco put the evil Balbinus aboard a ship.Trade ReviewNon-stop action, excitements and astonishments - a real cracker * The Good Book Guide *Absolutely smashing * Daily Telegraph *Davis's writing zings with fun * Daily Mail *
£9.49
Random House A Dying Light in Corduba
Book SynopsisAnother compelling and captivating historical mystery from the pen of multimillion-copy bestselling author Lindsey Davis. Ancient Rome is brought to life in all its humour, political manoeuvring and murderous intent...''Davis'' books make old Rome sound fun ... it is all so enjoyable'' -- The Times''The cast of characters is as various, corrupt, nasty and gnarled as the best of Dickens, described with similar scope and loving attention'' -- Mail on Sunday''Highly readable, funny and colourful.'' -- TLS''This is a more than five star book'' -- ***** Reader review''Another excellent Falco book that is difficult to put down'' -- ***** Reader review''Lindsey Davis produces yet another masterpiece'' -- ***** Reader review''A marvellous read'' -- ***** Reader review**********************************************************************Trade ReviewWith the passing of Ellis Peters, the title Queen of the Historical Whodunnit is temporarily vacant. Lindsey Davis is well suited to assume it - and she is funnier than Peters ... Davis' books make old Rome sound fun ... it is all so enjoyable * The Times *The cast of characters is as various, corrupt, nasty and gnarled as the best of Dickens, described with similar scope and loving attention * Mail on Sunday *Highly readable, funny and colourful. * TLS *Splendid ... mystery, pace and witLindsey Davis doesn't merely make history come alive - she turns it into spanking entertainment, and wraps it around an intriguing mystery. She is incapable of writing a dull sentence
£17.09
Random House Three Hands In The Fountain
Book SynopsisAnother engrossing historical mystery bringing Ancient Rome to life in all its gruesome glory from the pen of multimillion-copy bestselling author Lindsey Davis. Fans of S. J. Parris, Donna Leon, Steven Saylor and C. J. Sansom will not be disappointed...''Uniquely entertaining'' -- Time Out''Bizarre, funny and satisfying'' -- Irish Times''As always, Davis wears her research lightly, bringing Ancient Rome to vivid life in a series of delicious vignettes'' -- Val McDermid''Exciting and gripping'' -- ***** Reader review''I love this book. what an amazing author and what an amazing series!'' -- ***** Reader review''Another excellent Falco book that is difficult to put down'' -- ***** Reader review''Well written, humourous, interesting and a good read'' -- ***** Reader review**************************************************************************Trade ReviewUniquely entertaining * Time Out *Bizarre, funny and satisfying * Irish Times *One of the best of the current writers in this field * Sunday Times *As always, Davis wears her research lightly, bringing Ancient Rome to vivid life in a series of delicious vignettes * Manchester Evening News *Lindsey Davis's excellent and funny series [is] a cross between I, Claudius and Mystery! * Rocky Mountain News *
£13.85
Cornerstone One Virgin Too Many
Book Synopsis‘All the problems I know about are family ones.’A frightened child approaches Roman informer Falco pleading for help. Beset by his own family troubles, by his new responsibilities as Procurator of the Sacred Poultry, and by the continuing search for a new partner, Falco turns her away.Immediately he regrets it.Trade ReviewOne of the most entertaining books of the year * Sunday Telegraph *One of the best of the current writers in this field * Sunday Times *Wonderful, great fun all round * Daily Telegraph *Surely the best historical detective in the business * Daily Telegraph *
£9.49
Cornerstone The Jupiter Myth
Book SynopsisFans of S. J. Parris, Donna Leon, Steven Saylor, C. J. Sansom will love this exciting and enthralling historical mystery from multi-million copy bestselling author Lindsey Davis. Expertly weaving an authentic depiction of the Roman Empire with exceptional characterisation and a tightly woven plot, this will have you hooked. ''Lindsey Davis combines an engrossing plot with pithy dialogue and a comic (though not cartoonish) depiction of the past in all its gory splendour.'' -- The Guardian''Modern, exciting and plausible.'' -- Sunday Times''Another cracker from Lindsey Davis'' -- ***** Reader review''Very addictive and, at times, difficult to put down'' -- ***** Reader review''Another exceptional Falco novel'' -- ***** Reader review''A terrific read'' -- ***** Reader review***************************************Trade ReviewAgainst this richly textured backdrop is played out a story of low-down greed and grubby deals, of backhanders and protection rackets, that pulls of the trick of feeling modern, exciting and plausible. * The Sunday Times *Lindsey Davis combines an engrossing plot with pithy dialogue and a comic (though not cartoonish) depiction of the past in all its gory splendour. * The Guardian *Modern, exciting and plausible. * Sunday Times *As always, Davis weaves a plot full of humour, surprises and domestic irony. * TLS *
£13.85
Random House See Delphi And Die
Book SynopsisAnother engrossing historical mystery bringing Ancient Rome to life in all its gruesome glory from the pen of multimillion-copy bestselling author Lindsey Davis. Fans of S. J. Parris, Donna Leon, Steven Saylor and C. J. Sansom will not be disappointed...''Davis''s writing zings with fun'' -- Daily Mail''One of the best of the current writers in this field'' -- Donna Leon, The Times''My advice is BUY IT and READ IT as you will not regret it'' -- ***** Reader review''A cracking good read'' -- ***** Reader review''A real page-turner'' -- ***** Reader review''Absolutely brilliant!'' -- ***** Reader review**********************************************************************************THE ANCIENT SPORTS OF MURDER AND MYTHStunned by a dramatic appeal from his otherwise cool mother-in-law, Falco cannot resist. His brother-in-law has been diverted from his route to Athens University by a man whose newly married daughter disappeared, with her husband, while visiting the Olympic Games as part of an extended wedding trip. Suspecting a classic cover-up, Aulus enrols Falco''s help in solving the case. And of course his mother-in-law hopes to hurry her son along to university by passing the case over to Falco.Joining the rest of the married couple''s tour group on the remains of their Grand Tour, Falco and Helena seize the opportunity to interview the owner/manager of ''Seven Sights Travel'', as well as the other guests.Seemingly not getting very far, they can at least make the most of the splendid sights; but finally, on reaching Delphi, Falco and Helena unravel the mystery of the bride and groom...Trade Review • "Like visiting old friends in a familiar and endearing, if sometimes bizarre, environment. Jokes and skulduggery crowd the pages." --Guardian
£15.29
Random House The Nature of Blood
Book SynopsisThe Nature of Blood is an unforgettable novel about loss and persecution, about courage and betrayal, and about the terrible pain yet absoulte necessity of human memory.A young Jewish woman growing up in Germany in the middle of the twentieth century and an African general hired by the Doge to command his armies in sixteenth century Venice are bound by personal crisis and momentous social conflict. What emerges is Europe''s age-old obsession with race, with sameness and difference, with blood.Trade ReviewAn astonishing novel: ambitious, pithy, beautifully written and - above all - brave enough to tackle the great, public issues of our century without pity, prurience or maudlin sentiment * Independent *A potent and ambitious fiction, a joy to read, and perhaps its authors best work to date * Scotland on Sunday *Phillips is a cool stylist whose intricately structured work builds with a slow-burning, emotional power, and here is some of his finest writing to date * Guardian *An extraordinarily perceptive and intelligent novel, and a haunting one * New York Times *
£13.85
Vintage Publishing The Casebook of Victor Frankenstein
Book SynopsisVictor Frankenstein begins his anatomy experiments in a barn in the secluded village of Headington, near Oxford. The coroner''s office provides the corpses he needs - but they have often died by violent means and are damaged and putrifying. Victor moves his coils and jars and electrical fluids to a deserted pottery manufactury in Limehouse. And, from Limehouse, makes contact with the Doomesday Men - the resurrectionists. Victor pays better than any hospital for the bodies of the very recently dead. Even so, perfect specimens are hard to come by... until that Thames-side dawn when Victor, waiting, wrapped in his greatcoat, on his wooden jetty, hears the splashing of oars and sees in the half-light that slung into the stern of the approaching boat is the corpse of a handsome young man, one hand trailing in the water....Trade ReviewA thrilling concoction ... Ackroyd's telling of the tale is a worthy revival - I found his book so creepy I kept the bedroom light on all night * Daily Express *A brilliant jeu d'esprit. Above all, it stands as a tribute to the power of the human imagination * Daily Telegraph *Ackroyd takes Mary Shelley's hint of a doppelganger and plays with it fascinatingly in a fast-paced thriller which also nods towards the notion of split personality enshrined in Stevenson's Jekyll and Hyde... The novel leaps to its climax nimbly as a pursuing fiend, adn ends suitably in fiery revelation -- Michele Roberts * Independent *Distinguished Frankensteinian fantasia...Ackroyd loves taking what we, the general reading public, think we know about great writers, only to twist that knowledge into new fictional shapes....Ackroyd is the great pretzel-baker of contemporary fiction. And this is one of his tastiest, and twistiest, products so far * Financial Times *Terrifying and fascinating in equal measure * The Times *
£12.74
Vintage Publishing Bowlaway
Book SynopsisA big, glorious novel in every sense, this sprawling family sagais a funny and big-hearted epic from a seriously gifted wordsmith'Marie ClaireRead the sweeping and enchanting new novel from the author of The Giant's HouseBertha is an enigma to everyone in Salford, Massachusetts ever since she was discovered unconscious in a New England cemetery with nothing but a bowling ball, a candlepin and fifteen pounds of gold on her person. She has no past to speak of, and her mysterious origin scandalises the townspeople, as does her choice to marry and start a family with Leviticus Sprague, the doctor who revived her. But Bertha is plucky and entrepreneurial, and the bowling alley she opens quickly becomes Salford's most defining landmark. As she changes the town forever, her singular spirit resonating through every board and brick and bone, an epic family saga unfolds, set against the backdrop of twentieth-century America.Trade ReviewMcCracken is a firecracker stylist and every sentence, every image, is crafted for physical impact… It is exuberant, a bit bonkers and raw and unflinching. It will find a great many fans – and no doubt some awards, too. -- Lucy Atkins * Sunday Times *A big, glorious novel in every sense, this sprawling family saga… is a funny and big-hearted epic from a seriously gifted wordsmith. -- Samantha Irby * Marie Claire *McCracken’s rambunctious saga [Bowlaway]… is a funhouse of a novel. Even the most incidental of characters are granted glorious vignettes… in [an] unpredictable and startling world. -- Wendy Erskine * Spectator *[McCracken has] considerable gifts as a novelist [and] instinctive access to the most intricate threads of human thought and feeling... This novel’s cast grows epic, but McCracken is always most impressive when she works small, when she is describing movie kisses or corsets or simply loneliness and longing. * New York Times *Death and life, frosted with macabre comedy: it’s why we’ve enjoyed Elizabeth McCracken since her debut novel, The Giant’s House… nothing is ordinary in this story… There’s a wickedness to McCracken’s technique, the way she lures us in with her witty voice and oddball characters but then kicks the wind out of us… endlessly surprising. -- Ron Charles * Washington Post *
£9.49
Cornerstone Imperium
Book SynopsisRobert Harris is the author of fifteen bestselling novels: the Cicero Trilogy - Imperium, Lustrum and Dictator - Fatherland, Enigma, Archangel, Pompeii, The Ghost, The Fear Index, An Officer and a Spy, which won four prizes including the Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction, Conclave, Munich, The Second Sleep, V2 and Act of Oblivion. His work has been translated into forty languages and nine of his books have been adapted for cinema and television. He lives in West Berkshire with his wife, Gill Hornby.Trade ReviewHarris's best so far, rapid and compelling in narrative, copious in detail, thoroughly researched but also, which is more important, thoroughly imagined... Irresistible * Sunday Telegraph *In Harris's hands, the great game becomes a beautiful one * The Times *Genres ancient and modern have rarely been so skilfully synthesised... Gripping and accomplished * The Guardian *A joy to read in every way, and as a mirror to the politics of our present age has no equal * The Independent *Harris deploys the devices of the thriller writer to trace the perils and triumphs of Cicero's ascent ... A finely accomplished recreation of the power struggles of more than two millenniums ago * The Observer *
£9.49
Cornerstone Archangel
Book SynopsisRobert Harris is the author of fifteen bestselling novels: the Cicero Trilogy - Imperium, Lustrum and Dictator - Fatherland, Enigma, Archangel, Pompeii, The Ghost, The Fear Index, An Officer and a Spy, which won four prizes including the Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction, Conclave, Munich, The Second Sleep, V2 and Act of Oblivion. His work has been translated into forty languages and nine of his books have been adapted for cinema and television. He lives in West Berkshire with his wife, Gill Hornby.Trade ReviewThe best thriller for years * Sunday Telegraph *His best yet: a fast paced thriller, pulsing with suspense, that surpasses even the expertly handled tensions and twists of Fatherland * Sunday Times *Robert Harris confirms his position as Britain's pre-eminent literary thriller writer with Archangel * The Times *A really gripping narrative, full of suspense and unexpected turns, which will keep you hooked until the climax on its final page... I have never read a thriller based in Russia which has such an authentic feel * Evening Standard *Archangel is Harris's strongest book yet, confirming him as the leading current exponent of the intelligent literary thriller * The Times *
£9.49
Cornerstone Pompeii
Book SynopsisRobert Harris is the author of fifteen bestselling novels: the Cicero Trilogy - Imperium, Lustrum and Dictator - Fatherland, Enigma, Archangel, Pompeii, The Ghost, The Fear Index, An Officer and a Spy, which won four prizes including the Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction, Conclave, Munich, The Second Sleep, V2 and Act of Oblivion. His work has been translated into forty languages and nine of his books have been adapted for cinema and television. He lives in West Berkshire with his wife, Gill Hornby.Trade ReviewHarris is a writer of integrity who does not seek refuge in postmodernist nonsense...He knows how to tell a story and achieves page-turningreadability without effort. * Frank McLynn, Daily Express *Explosive stuff, indeed - and, yes, it goes with a bang. * Tom Holland, Daily Telegraph *The depth of research in this book is staggering...Pompeii is indeed a blazing blockbuster. * Simon Brett, Daily Mail *It is hard to imagine a more thorough-goingly enjoyable thriller read * The Sunday Times *Harris had me imaginatively surrounded. I am lost in admiration at his energy and skill * Boris Johnson, Mail on Sunday *
£9.49
Vintage Publishing The ThirtyNine Steps
Book SynopsisJohn Buchan was born in Perth in 1875, the son of a Scottish Presbyterian minister, and educated at Glasgow. He gained a first at Oxford University, where he began writing, producing two volumes of essays, four novels and two collections of stories and poems before the age of twenty-five. He worked briefly as a lawyer, then served as a private secretary in the colonial administration of South Africa after the Boer War. During the war he worked both as a journalist and at Britain's War Propaganda Bureau, eventually becoming Director of Information. He published his most popular novel, The Thirty-Nine Steps, in 1915, and it has never since been out of print. In 1935 Buchan was elevated to the peerage, becoming Baron Tweedmuir of Elsfield, and later that year was appointed Governor General of Canada by King George V. He died on 11 February 1940.Trade ReviewRichard Hannay is, like his American brother Philip Marlowe, a modern knight errant. Charging through a hypocritical world, he is a seeker after truth with a boundless love of nature, a liking for simple pleasures and a hatred of pettiness and snobberies.... Buchan's novels are eerily resonant with today's troubles... Hannay is a hero for all times * Observer *The book is even more fun than the films * Guardian *The father of the modern espionage adventure * Sunday Times *Buchan makes superb use of wild landscapes in this economical and gripping story * The Times *Go into a bookshop today, pick up The Thirty-Nine Steps and I guarantee you will read it to the end. There is random and graphic violence, there is clear and present evil, eyes that are hooded 'like a bird of prey' - and a man 'skewered to the floor by a long knife through his heart' * Daily Mail *
£7.59
Vintage Publishing The Quickening Maze
Book SynopsisAdam Foulds was born in 1974, took a Creative Writing MA at the University of East Anglia and now lives in South London. His first novel, The Truth About These Strange Times, was published in 2007 and his book-length narrative poem, The Broken Word, the following year. He was named the Sunday Times Young Writer of the Year in 2008 and named as one of Granta's Best of Young British Novelists 2013.Trade ReviewA seamless blend of historical fact and fiction...Foulds's writing has a poetic intensity and his descriptions of the autumnal woods around the asylum are as piercingly keen as his insight into the minds of the patients, the doctor and his family * Daily Mail *Adam Foulds won the 2008 Costa Poetry Award, and he is a skilful poet. These talents are well displayed in his prose which, while lyrical, never grows fussy or highfalutin'. He draws a walk-on character with a few deft strokes -- Lionel Shriver * Telegraph *A work of strikingly beautiful, unforced writing * Daily Express *The chief pleasure of the book is its prose: exquisite yet measured, precise, attentive to the world * Sunday Telegraph *Fould's exceptional novel is like a lucid dream: earthy and true, but shifting, metamorphic - the word-perfect fruit of a poet's sharp eye and novelist's limber reach * The Times *
£9.49
Vintage Publishing All Quiet on the Western Front
Book SynopsisIn 1914, a room full of German schoolboys, fresh-faced and idealistic, are goaded by their schoolmaster to troop off to the 'glorious war'. With the fire and patriotism of youth, they sign up. What follows is the story of a young 'unknown soldier' experiencing the horror and disillusionment of life in the trenches.Trade ReviewRemarque's evocation of the horrors of modern warfare has lost none of its force * The Times *Remarque is a craftsman of unquestionably first rank * New York Times Book Review *There are some books that should be read by every generation... Remarque's story of German trench soldiers of the 1914-18 war gains even more authority in the context of the loss of life in wars that still rageBrian Murdoch's new English translation shows that Remarque's evocation of the horrors of modern warfare has lost none of its force * The Times *The book conquers without persuading, it shakes you without exaggerating, a perfect work of art and at the same time truth that cannot by doubted
£9.49
Cornerstone The Sun in Splendour
Book SynopsisReckoned by those about him to be the most handsome man in the country, Edward the fourth has risen to the throne with the help of Warwick, the kingmaker. But even Warwick''s trusted advice cannot convince the King to ignore his passion for the beautiful widow, Elizabeth Woodville - and when she refuses to become his mistress the two are married. Beloved of the people, Edward proves himself to be a strong king, but his love of luxurious living soon begins to impact on his royal duties. Despite his mistresses, Elizabeth is loyal to the illustrious king, providing him with many children, among them Edward the fifth and Richard Duke of York. But Edward lived recklessly and on his death an incident from his past comes to light that will change the course of history ...Trade ReviewThese books are page-turners; they offer a wonderful way to learn about history, their heroines are smart, strong and in control of their destinies and their stories will remain with you for ever...They are a celebration of women's spirit throughout history. * Daily Express *One of England's foremost historical novelists * Birmingham Mail *Plaidy excels at blending history with romance and drama * The New York Times *Far and away my favourite writer * Wendy Holden *If you like Philippa Gregory or Barbara Erskine, take a step back in time with Jean Plaidy * Woman and Home *
£17.09
Cornerstone The Captive Queen
Book SynopsisIt is the year 1152, and a beautiful woman rides through France, fleeing her crown, her two young daughters and a shattered marriage.Her husband, Louis of France has been more monk than monarch, and certainly not a lover. Now Eleanor of Aquitaine has one sole purpose: to return to her duchy and marry the man she loves, Henry Plantagenet, destined for greatness as King of England. It will be a union founded on lust, renowned as one of the most vicious marriages in history, and it will go on to forge a great empire and a devilish brood. This is a story of the making of nations, and of passionate conflicts: between Henry II and Thomas Becket; between Eleanor and Henry''s formidable mother Matilda; between father and sons, as Henry''s children take up arms against him - and finally between Henry and Eleanor herself.Trade ReviewA vibrant historical novel that explores the rocky relationship between Henry Plantagenet and Eleanor of Aquitaine, whose union produced King John and Richard the Lionheart * Marie Claire *A tumultous tale, told here with insight, empathy, vitality and vision . . . A brilliant portrayal of a marriage in meltdown * Lancashire Evening Post *Alison Weir deserves the large and loyal popular following for her readable historical biographies . . . Eleanor of Aquitaine is the most fabulous (literally) of subjects * Viewspaper *Weir provides immense satisfaction. She writes in a pacy, vivid style, engaging the heart as well as the mind * Independent *
£9.49
Vintage Publishing After the Fire A Still Small Voice
Book SynopsisFrank and Leon are two men from different times, discovering that sometimes all you learn from your parents'' mistakes is how to make different ones of your own. Frank is trying to escape his troubled past by running away to his family''s beach shack. As he struggles to make friends with his neighbors and their precocious young daughter, Sal, he discovers the community has fresh wounds of its own. A girl is missing, and when Sal too disappears, suspicion falls on Frank.Decades earlier, Leon tries to hold together his family''s cake shop as their suburban life crumbles in the aftermath of the Korean War. When war breaks out again, Leon must go from sculpting sugar figurines to killing young men as a conscript in the Vietnam War.Trade ReviewJust sometimes, a book is so complete, so compelling and potent, that you are fearful of breaking its hold. This is one: a novel about (as its title might suggest) devastating damage and the humanity that, almost unfathomably, remains...with awesome skill and whiplash wit, Evie Wyld knits together past and present, with tension building all the time. In Peter Carey and Tim Winton, Australia has produced two if the finest storytellers working today. On this evidence, Wyld can match them both -- Stephanie Cross * Daily Mail *Wyld sympathetically explores the blight of war and violence on three generations of a working-class Australian family -- Gabriel Byng * New Statesman *Wyld's first novel is a remarkable achievement: a potent and compelling exploration of the connections between father and son, and the legacy of violence and repression * bookmunch.wordpress.com/ *Superb first novel -- Kate Saunders * The Times *Wyld has a feel for beauty and for the ugliness of inherited pain * The New Yorker *
£9.49
Cornerstone The Ragged Heiress
Book SynopsisA classic story from the No. 1 **Sunday Times bestseller** Dilly Court.London, 1874When Lucetta Froy awakes in a hospital bed, she remembers nothing of the events that brought her to her present state.She is taken home by two rough-speaking individuals who claim to be her brothers. However, as her health improves and her memory returns, she realises she has been kidnapped...The men hope to claim Lucetta''s fortune as a ransom, for she is the daughter of a prosperous importer whose ship went down at sea. Her parents tragically drowned, but Lucetta survived.Abandoned and destitute, it seems as though the world is against her. But Lucetta''s spirit will never be broken, and so she sets out to reclaim what is rightfully hers.
£8.99
Cornerstone A Mothers Secret
Book SynopsisDilly Court grew up in North-east London and began her career in television, writing scripts for commercials. She is married with two grown-up children and four grandchildren, and now lives in Dorset on the beautiful Jurassic Coast with her husband. She is the bestselling author of more than thirty novels.
£8.54
Cornerstone Cinderella Sister
Book SynopsisDilly Court grew up in North-east London and began her career in television, writing scripts for commercials. She is married with two grown-up children and four grandchildren, and now lives in Dorset on the beautiful Jurassic Coast with her husband. She is the bestselling author of more than thirty novels.
£8.54
Vintage Publishing Metroland
Book SynopsisJulian Barnes is the author of thirteen novels, including The Sense of an Ending, which won the 2011 Man Booker Prize for Fiction, and Sunday Times bestsellers The Noise of Time and The Only Story. He has also written three books of short stories, four collections of essays and three books of non-fiction, including the Sunday Times number one bestseller Levels of Life and Nothing To Be Frightened Of, which won the 2021 Yasnaya Polyana Prize in Russia. In 2017 he was awarded the Légion d'honneur.Trade ReviewI was captivated from the first page. I cannot remember when I enjoyed a first novel more -- Nina Bawden * Daily Telegraph *If all works of fiction were as thoughtful, as subtle, as well constructed, and as funny as Metroland there would be no more talk of the death of the novel * New Statesman *A rare and unusual first novel -- William Boyd * London Magazine *A very funny, touching first novel. It has a hard comic edge to it that is logical and at the same time extremely diverting * Spectator *One would have to look very hard to find a wryer, more lovingly detailed account of intellectual and sexual innocence abroad -- Jay Parini * New York Times *
£8.99
Vintage Publishing Staring at the Sun
Book SynopsisJulian Barnes is the author of thirteen novels, including The Sense of an Ending, which won the 2011 Man Booker Prize for Fiction, and Sunday Times bestsellers The Noise of Time and The Only Story. He has also written three books of short stories, four collections of essays and three books of non-fiction, including the Sunday Times number one bestseller Levels of Life and Nothing To Be Frightened Of, which won the 2021 Yasnaya Polyana Prize in Russia. In 2017 he was awarded the Légion d'honneur.Trade ReviewNone of Mr Barnes's previous work... has quite prepared us for the bewildering maturity of Staring at the Sun...it dazzles in depth * Harpers & Queen *Brilliant... Mr Barnes's work is at the forefront of a new internationalization of British fiction * New York Times *A remarkable and risk-taking book, breezily philosophical and light-fingered, funny and also genuinely affecting in that it touches both the heart and the head * Glasgow Herald *
£9.49
Vintage Publishing Flauberts Parrot
Book SynopsisJulian Barnes is the author of thirteen novels, including The Sense of an Ending, which won the 2011 Man Booker Prize for Fiction, and Sunday Times bestsellers The Noise of Time and The Only Story. He has also written three books of short stories, four collections of essays and three books of non-fiction, including the Sunday Times number one bestseller Levels of Life and Nothing To Be Frightened Of, which won the 2021 Yasnaya Polyana Prize in Russia. In 2017 he was awarded the Légion d'honneur.Trade ReviewBarnes manages to be erudite but extremely funny too… You never know what Barnes is going to do next and I admire that.’ -- Caroline Rees * Daily Express *Delightful and enriching... A book to revel in! -- Joseph HellerEndless food for thought, beautifully written... A tour de force -- Germaine GreerA gem: an unashamed literary novel that is also unashamed to be readable, and broadly entertaining. Bravo! -- John IrvingJulian Barnes' wry and graceful book, part novel, part stealthy literary criticism, traces the marks Flaubert made on a forgetting world. The writing is unfailingly sharp and often very funny, and among the best prose I have read in years * Sunday Times *
£9.49
Vintage Publishing Doctor Zhivago
Book SynopsisBoris Pasternak was born in Moscow in 1890 and after briefly training as a composer resolved to be a writer. He published a large number of collections of poetry, written under the burden of Soviet Russia's stringent censorship, before publishing his most famous work, Dr Zhivago, in 1958. This novel won him the Nobel Prize for Literature but the USSR's hostility to the West meant he was forced to turn it down. He died in 1960.Trade ReviewThe first work of genius to come out of Russia since the Revolution -- V.S. PritchettThe English-speaking world is indebted to these two magnificent translators * New York Review of Books *One of the great events in man's literary and moral history -- Edmund WilsonBelongs to that small group of novels by which all others are ultimately judged -- Frank Kermode * Spectator *Not since Shakespeare has love been so fully, vividly, scrupulously and directly communicated -- Isaiah Berlin * Sunday Times *
£9.49
Vintage Publishing Merivel
Book SynopsisOne of the great imaginative creations in English literature' Daily TelegraphA dazzling novel of loyalty and dreams set in Restoration England.The gaudy years of the Restoration are long gone and Robert Merivel, physician and courtier to King Charles II, sets off for the French court in search of a fresh start. But royal life at the Palace of Versailles all glitter in front and squalor behind leaves him in despair, until a chance encounter with the seductive Madame de Flamanville, allows him to dream of a different future. But will that future ever be his? Summoned home urgently to attend to the ailing King, Merivel finds his loyalty and skill tested to their limits.Rose Tremain has sold over one million copies of her books.PRAISE FOR MERIVELThis book is richly marbled with intelligence, compassion and compelling characters' The Times''Magnificent story-teller'' IndependenTrade ReviewSocial, political and physical labyrinth -- Frances Osborne * Evening Standard *Satisfying... agreeably sardonic -- Quentin Letts * Daily Mail *One of the great imaginative creations in English literature * Daily Telegraph *An unadulterated delight * Independent *Rich and satisfying -- Lindsay Duguid * Sunday Times *A tour de force of literary technique, a treasure house of diligent research and imaginative ingenuity -- Jane Shilling * Telegraph *Wonderfully entertaining -- Michael Holroyd * Guardian, Books of the Year *Her feeling for the spirit of the times is triumphant -- Charlotte Moore * Spectator *A rich, glowing portrait -- Daisy Hay * Observer *Her characters laugh, cry, plot and flounder so convincingly that they take up residence in your head and refuse to go away -- Mary Crockett * Scotland on Sunday *This book is richly marbled with intelligence, compassion and compelling characters, leavened with flourishes of lyricism and an attractive tolerance towards human frailties -- Angus Clarke * The Times *What ultimately makes the book such a joy is simply being in Merivel’s company. His narration is by turns rueful, comic, despairing and joyful; but it’s always bursting with life, always good-hearted - and always entirely loveable -- James Walton * Daily Mail *A delight -- Lucy Beresford * Literary Review *At times witty and enchanting, on other occasions full of doubt and self-loathing, Merivel remains a stunning achievement. He is Everyman and speaks to us all -- Virginia Blackburn * Sunday Express *Exuberance is a very hard thing to sustain in a novel… However, Tremain brings it off brilliantly. As one might expect, this is a very funny novel, full of picaresque adventure, hapless accidents and ingeniously wrought slapstick. However, it is also a very moving and beautiful novel. There are passages here which I found myself reading over and over again simply in order to savour them. Merivel: A Man of His Time may have been a long time coming, but it’s been well worth the wait -- John Preston * Mail on Sunday *Merivel is excellent company. Writing with a mimic’s ear for conversation, whimsical one moment, grave the next, Tremain has an underlying preoccupation here: the last third of live, love and loss, loneliness and vanity -- Maggie Fergusson * Intelligent Life *
£9.49
Vintage Publishing 1Q84 Books 1 and 2
Book Synopsis*PRE-ORDER HARUKI MURAKAMI'S NEW NOVEL, THE CITY AND ITS UNCERTAIN WALLS, NOW*Read this imaginative masterpiece from the internationally bestselling author of Norwegian WoodThe year is 1984. Aomame sits in a taxi on the expressway in Tokyo.Her work is not the kind which can be discussed in public but she is in a hurry to carry out an assignment and, with the traffic at a stand-still, the driver proposes a solution. She agrees, but as a result of her actions starts to feel increasingly detached from the real world. She has been on a top-secret mission, and her next job will lead her to encounter the apparently superhuman founder of a religious cult.Meanwhile, Tengo wishes to become a writer. He inadvertently becomes involved in a strange affair surrounding a literary prize to which a mysterious seventeen-year-old girl has submitted her remarkable first novel. It seems to be based on her own experiences and moves readers in unusual ways. Can her story really be true?Both Aomame and Tengo notice that the world has grown strange; both realise that they are indispensable to each other. While their stories influence one another, at times by accident and at times intentionally, the two come closer and closer to intertwining.''It is a work of maddening brilliance and gripping originality, deceptively casual in style, but vibrating with wit, intellect and ambition'' The TimesTrade ReviewA surreal and fractured dose of storytelling that only Murakami cold write. -- Graham Morrison, five stars * Linux Voice *A surreal and fractured dose of storytelling that only Murakami cold write. -- Graham Morrison, five stars * Linux Voice *It’s pure, uncut Murakami. * Business Insider *Murakami's magnum opus * Japan Times *1Q84 has a range and sophistication that surpasses anything else in his oeuvre. It is his most achieved novel; an epic in which form and content are neatly aligned... So like Murakami himself, I'll borrow from Orwell: 1Q84 is quite simply doubleplusgood * Independent on Sunday *
£10.44
Vintage Publishing The Book Of Intimate Grammar
Book SynopsisEleven years old and on the cusp of puberty, Aron Kleinfeld is precocious, imaginative - the leader of his gang of friends. But his bar mitzvah is looming, his friends are all hitting puberty and Aron, terrified and revolted by what he sees around him, enters a state of arrested development. He stops growing, retreats from the world, and is imprisoned in the body of a child for three long years. While Israel inches towards the Six-Day War, and his friends cross the boundary between childhood and adolescence, Aron remains in his child''s body, spying on the changes that adulthood wreaks as, like his hero Houdini, he struggles to escape the trap of growing up.Trade ReviewIt's a rare achievement for the magic of childhood to be treated so weightily * Mail on Sunday *When the Israeli writer David Grossman's See Under: Love was published...he was compared legitimately to Kafka, Grass, Márquez and Joyce....David Grossman's own intimate grammar will speak to anyone who was ever twelve * The Boston Globe *It is an achievement that is full of charm and courage * Andrew Motion *Like [Virginia] Woolf, Grossman is uncanny at reproducing an experience from the inside out...the writing reminds you of the great, solemn mystery of literature, what the poet Czeslaw Milosz calls 'the human possibility of being someone else * Chicago Tribune *Mr. Grossman's balance between the poetic and the profane is perfect....[The Book of Intimate Grammar] is See Under: Love's stylistic twin: the beauty and intelligence of the writing are dazzling....It can be read at once, as a tale of magic realism, a parable about the damage left in the wake of the Holocaust, a psychological portrait of a child's descent into madness, and, finally, as a comical but searing indictment of the Jewish family * New York Times Book Review *
£9.49
Vintage Publishing My Policeman
Book Synopsis**NOW A MAJOR FILM STARRING HARRY STYLES**This love is all-consumingIt is in 1950s'' Brighton that Marion first catches sight of the handsome and enigmatic Tom. He teaches her to swim in the shadow of the pier and Marion is smitten - determined her love will be enough for them both.A few years later in Brighton Museum Patrick meets Tom. Patrick is besotted with Tom and opens his eyes to a glamorous, sophisticated new world.Tom is their policeman, and in this age it is safer for him to marry Marion. The two lovers must share him, until one of them breaks and three lives are destroyed.''A sensitive, sweeping novel'' VOGUE''Tense, romantic, smart...I loved it. Devoured it!'' RUSSELL T. DAVIES''A powerful story of forbidden love, regret, and living as your true self'' VANITY FAIR''A moving story of longing and frustration'' OBSERVERTrade ReviewThe era and the seaside locale are beautifully rendered and observed, not least the social and sexual undercurrents of the time * Sunday Times *A humane and evocative portrait of a time when lives were destroyed by intolerance * Guardian *This spiky portrait of love makes for a gripping read * Independent *Pitch perfect * Marie Claire *A moving story of longing and frustration * Observer *Stunning...fraught and honest * New York Times Book Review *
£8.54
